champions cup

B & I Cup

On a historic day for Irish rugby it was disappointment for Leinster whose undefeated home record of 28 games in all competitions came to an end. History was also made for Glasgow who at the 13thattempt defeated Leinster 23-19 on home soil for the very first time. With Leinster making up half the Irish squad, and providing 9 out of the 15 starters in the game against Australia, perhaps something had to give. Still, spoilt as we are under the Cheika and Joe Schmidt eras, Leinster fans hoped that the elation of seeing Ireland beat Australia for the first time in a world cup, bridging a gap of more than 30 years since we last beat them in the southern hemisphere could be backed up with a home win over Glasgow on Saturday night.more

Okay, Leinster's win last week over the Dragons was far from perfect but after the dismal display against the Ospreys in week one, a 21 point win with three marvellous tries was quite satisfactory. True, there were still issues. There were once again problems with the lineout and the breakdown still wasn't up to standard either. Leinster played in patches and their defensive intensity wasn't as high as it should be, as we saw when they switched off for the Dragons' breakaway try.more

Leinster find themselves in the unusual position of being bottom of the table looking up at the rest of the Pro 12. Hey, it's only after one game so there's no need for panic but it's still slightly embarrassing for the European Champions. To lose away to the Ospreys is of course no disgrace but it was the manner of the performance that was truly shocking. Leinster were simply blown away in the first half to trail 27-3. They rallied somewhat in the second half to at least deny the Ospreys any more scores. more

Every four years, the leading figures in Irish rugby go away on a retreat of physical and spiritual self-examination, which generally ends in frustration, disillusionment and bitter recrimination. Other countries refer to it as "The World Cup". Hopefully this time there will be a better outcome even if it's not looking too promising at the moment.